When we talk about empathy, we often confuse it with sympathy. Yet, during the interviews, women were very clear about the differences between sympathy and empathy. When they talked about their ability to overcome shame, they clearly pointed to empathy: sharing their feelings with someone who would understand and relate to what they were saying. Conversely, women used words like hate, despise and can’t stand to describe their feelings about sympathy seeking—looking for sympathy or being asked for sympathy. Empathy
